Conditions were flat. OK, they were lousy:
Grid QSOS Grids
DM74AX 6 2
DM75BA 6 2
DM65TC 4 2
Except for only working 2 grids, this is not a bad score, and hence
not a bad contest, for this part of the country. But no sporadic E or
enhanced propagation of any type.
I tried a couple of skeds but did not complete them.
It was fun to give W5ZF a new grid in DM74, despite him having roved
from there many times. I got a local QRPer on 6M for the sprint and I
hope that he has caught the magic band fever. W5SIX was on from Horse
Mountain and I worked him from all the grids I operated in. Mark
always puts in a strong signal out here. He also promised better
conditions for the June contest. They can't be much worse than last
year.
Virginia had taken the Subaru I usually rove in to visit our daughter,
so I had to outfit the old 4Runner for roving quickly. It didn't have
a trailer hitch, so I couldn't use the configuration I use for roving
in the Subaru. I built a drive on mast holder from a 2 x 10 two feet
long. I mounted a floor flange and nipple on one end. I mounted a
slotted angle to the roof rack. I could use the mast from the Subaru
rover. I goes over the nipple, snd is bungee corded to the angle for
support. The bungee cord gives you a bit of slop so that you don't
need to always drive over the mount at the same place.
The location in DM74 is close to the grid corner in the drive to a
gravel pit and is slightly elevated from surrounding terrain. DM75BA
is only a few miles away and is at the site of the old Longhorn Ranch
Route 66 tourist trap. It is noisier than I would like, so I may move
a few miles east to the rest stop on I40 next time. DM65TC is my
driveway.
I had trouble with intermittent SSB on the IC551D. Other than that it
was a nice contest, would have liked to work more grids, but it was
not to be. See you in the June Contest. I will be on with 6M, 2M, and
432. Unless a 222 transverter finds it way here. - Duffey
--
KK6MC
James Duffey
Cedar Crest NM
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